Following on from the interest in the other Jamie Oliver thread.

Before Jamie Oliver did Fowl Dinners, he did another special called
"EAT TO SAVE YOUR LIFE".

It showed all the crap we eat, how food has changed over the years, the crap additives in fast food and the damage caused from eat such a garbage diet.

This has come at an interesting stage in my life after having a family member diagnosed with bowel cancer.

It's not only cancer we have to worry about, it's fat, longevity and general health concerns.


Did you watch and did it make you think about the way (and what) you will eat in the future.

If we care about the health of a fingernail (quite trivial in the bigger picture of life), or how dark our tan is on the outside (pretty superficial also) why not care about what we put into our own bodies to make them healthy on the inside?

IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT "WHO" YOU EAT,
SHOULDN'T YOU AT LEAST CARE ABOUT "WHAT" YOU EAT ?

I havent watched the programme but I know the one you mean. Whether I am going thru a mid life crisis or what I dont know but apart from a few half hareted attempts to lose weight in the pst I have never really bothered about what I eat, and thats after having cancer a few years ago.(clear 8 years now )
But all of a sudden your mortality hits you, in my case it started as a vanity thing, so I had a face lift ..but its so much more, I stopped smoking..drinking I have cut down..that will stop..I dont drink fizzy drinks any more...I think about what I eat now..I will walk rather than get in the car for short distances.
For me it was late in life for me to start, but nor to late I hope..everyone should listen to what there body tells them tho...xx

for those that didn't see it, here's a quick rundown about it
Jamie Oliver’s Eat to Save Your Life from Channel4.com

I voted for the first option although at times I feel it may be a little like bolting the door after the horse legged it. Although we ate fresh veg with every meal as children I realise now just how bad the rest of it actually was but I also find old and ingrained habits very hard to shrug off.

I am working on it though.

I am pleased to say I eat really well. I buy absolutely nothing fast or processed. I make pretty much everything, including salad dresings and mayonaise etc, and follow a varied and healthy fresh food eating regime ... very Mediterranean ... which is of course where I live.

It is no coincidence that many of the diseases and obesity problems seen in other areas are not prevalent amongst my generation and the older generation here in Spain ... however it is all happening in the young generation.

Obesity, fast food, lack of exercise (imagine in Spain where traditionally kids play sport from the time they can walk, in the squares and streets everywhere). Computers have taken over and the TV and exercise is now just not happening as it did before and no one is better for the change believe me. to see fat Spanish children is no longer a rare thing, sadly.

I love to cook and I love and eat all food. Fish and meat and veg and salads etc. I also eat bread and butter and oils and drink wine etc. I just don't do allot of it at a time.

Portion control is the key to weight loss. You should eat everything in moderation. (well the wine may be an exception.)

I didnt watch it Carl, but will have a look at the link you posted when I have finished typing ...

I voted for the last one, I have never worried before what I eat or when I eat. I have always ate when I am hungry, not at any scheduled time. I was never brought up on on meat & veg ... but rather chips, frozen food, anything quick & easy because there was so many of us.

But, when my OH's Dad got diagnosed with fatal cancer we read a lot of books on the foods that help you ... like certain fruits, veggies, nuts & berries. I did take it in, and no longer eat frozen foods & very hardly have fast foods (where at one point I was eating maybe 3 or 4 a week).

Whenever I think of cancer, the thing that always sticks in my head is that it was never that common before .... says 20/30years ago, and now it seems that if its not somebody that you know has it, it is a friend of a friend has it .... so I think that its definately something more common that is causing it. I have also been told radiation could be a cause!

Sorry for the long reply, I could talk for hours over possibilities and causes!

Have eaten well for a long time.


We all need to get cooking - and if theres left-overs - freeze it - for a ready meal when you don't have time.

Trouble is - even though I eat stacks of vegetables - I'm not thin. But I do blame that on not doing enough exercise.


I let my son play out with his friends - he is 7 and there is not a picking on him. He does like computer games - but he also loves playing out.

I think (I hope - I have got the balance right).

I think I eat well and I think I have a healthy diet.

I cook my family's dinner from scratch every evening and during the summer time, I eat true organic vegtables from my mummy's back garden and have done all my life. She grows rows and rows of pak choi.

On the rare occasion when I am too tired to cook, I do call for a pizza. But my children is not a fan of fast food, so I very rarely do so.

As many of you know already, my diet consists of home made chinese food, which I mostly stir fry with a little oil or steam. No msg and no artificial colourings which you get in the take aways and we always eat our dinner with plain boiled rice.

I don't drink tea or coffee and never have done in my life. I only drink chinese green herbal tea or erm.. just plain hot water..!!

My only downside is chocolate. Especially the very fattening Godiva chocolates. If I start then I just can't stop..!!

Apart from the fact that its genetic, I think one of the reasons why oriental people are rarely obese is because of their diet. So yes, I do think we have to be careful in what we put inside our bodies to make we stay healthy.

Being pregnant has made me more aware of what i eat,but sometimes it's hard i mean how often do you pick up a cook book and it has an ingredient you have never heard of let alone have it in the cupboard like they say you will.I need quick,easy simple and accesible recipies,actually the government ought to provide them if they are so concerned about our health and the increse of obeisity.

I'd forgotten about that programme until I looked at your link.

Yes, I watched it and it certainly made me think, especially the part where Jamie showed how many spoons of salt and sugar where in a particular dish, can't remember now, was it pizza?

Funnily enough the autopsy part didn't seem to faze me too much if I remember rightly, but the overall programme certainly got me thinking.

I abused my body (bad food, no exercise) for years in the past and I'm paying for it now with Type 2 Diabetes, I was diagnosed about 3 years ago. Up until recently I was taking 8 tablets a day for my diabetes (6 x metformin, the maximum before going onto daily insulin jabs, 1 x ramipril and 1 x piaglitazone), but 6 weeks ago Sean and I started this health kick thing and my blood sugars have never been so good, I have even managed to cut down to 4 x metformin and stop the piglitazone completely, and my blood is between 4.8 and 6.5 all the time now, whereas before it used to be in around the 11 mark, even with the tablets. Just goes to show what a little exercise and sensible eating can achieve.

The only time I buy processed foods now is when I'm away in the UK and I want to make sure Sean eats something other than a fry up! Otherwise everything is cooked from fresh, I love vegetables and have upped my intake of them and cut down a little on meat. I limit myself regarding take aways now too, shame, I loved them, I might have one every couple of months or so now.

And as with Suzie, I started taking note of what I was eating later on in life, hopefully I can repair some of the damage I've already done to it. My mum isn't the best cook in the world (bless her) and my dad died when I was young so with not much money around we grew up with cheap processed foods and frozen vegetables - I ate like that for years as an adult until I started taking note of what I was eating.


Becki, there are some fantastic recipes on the internet, quick and easy things with 'normal' ingredients. I've given up buying cook books because there is so much information online. Oh, and having watched Marco Pierre White make that fish pie the other week I want to have a go at that - it looked delicious - and so easy!!!

I like watching Jamie oliver,Anthony worral Thomas and James martin and Ken Hom cooking delicious dishes and recently Marco Pierre White. i have a big book called readers digest great recipes for good health.

I try to eat healthy as much as possible and when i do... it has proven to be a good impact on my health. I drink about 5 cups of coffee per day and drink one herbal tea and i don't drink fizzy drinks much maybe the odd can of pepsi now and again ,i drink bottled water(tap water here makes me want to throw up, anyway theres too much lime in it,although when i go to Scotland thats a different matter) alcohol is limited to 2 glasses of nice wine or a couple of Bacardi breezers per week,processed foods i rarely look at but i do like the quorn foods ,i do most of my cooking from scratch especially if it is pasta dishes such as vegetable lasagna or vegetable curried dishes.dairy products are fine i like yogurts and make my own smoothies , i eat a good amount of fruit(5 a day) ,i found soya milk was good for me it tastes nice once you accustom yourself to it.free range eggs,grilled or steamed fish i also enjoy and free range\organic chicken .i found my health was suffering and i was abusing my body with too much rubbish i was eating(greasy foods and lots of meat) it was when i was told i was going through the menopause at the age of 37 that i changed my eating habits and became a demi-vegetarian.I am always aware of what i eat but i do eat the odd plate of ovenchips. i do like Chocolate,not very often only when i'm bored.

Do you have any recomendations Jackie ? xx

I'm really not that good - but I do try.

I cannot eat fish or seafood - in fact I have a phobia, I can't even look at them. I really dislike all fruit apart from bananas and although I eat all vegetables I really only like sprouts.......yes I am serious.

To compensate I do at least try to eat as much freshly prepared food as possible, at least I haven't got a sweet tooth so cakes, biscuits and chocolate don't do much for me.

I've not watch the programme or heard anything about it until reading this thread so I haven't voted.
We eat very healthily, I can't remember the last time I bought a 'cook in sauce', everything from lasagne and bolognese sauce to curry is made by me, IMO they're much tastier than the bottled sauces.
That's not to say that we don't have naughty treats every so often like pizza etc, but they're not a regular thing in our everyday diet.

I am aware of health risks so do eat healthly and do cook from scratch and I do eat plenty of fruit and veg etc